The board and membership of the Glentoran Community Trust are delighted to have been able to assist Glentoran Football Club and team manager Gary Haveron with the financing and acquisition of centre forward Robbie McDaid yesterday. Over the summer the Trust have been in constant contact with Gary as he sought to strengthen the squad and Robbie was highlighted as a player he was very keen to secure the services of.

The Trust’s membership have made a substantial five figurecommitment (our largest ever) to the deal which brings the total Glentoran Community Trust contribution to players wages, club sponsorship and ground improvements to an eye watering £48,000 since its inception.

Additionally the Glentoran Community Trust had made donations to local charities and worthy causes in excess of £20,000 over the same period.

At the same time the Trust continue to celebrate and preserve the rich heritage of Glentoran Football by organising events around historical milestones such as the Belfast Blitz and the Vienna Cup centenary. This aspect of the Trust’s commitment will continue with further events in the pipeline for the near future.

Pictured before last night’s game alongside Glentoran’s latest acquisition Robbie McDaid are Glentoran Community Trust members Stephen Gorman and his son Dean, Andrew Veighey and his son Jack, Ray Cordner, John Moore, James Leebody, Wilson Bouvaird and Jim Welsh, with Glentoran manager Gary Haveron and club director Ian Kerr.

The Trust’s capacity to continue to assist the club only exists because of a strong and vibrant membership and to this end membership applications and renewals remain open at all times and can be made by visiting the join/renew section of our website above.

Thank you all once again for your tremendous support.

All photographs are provided courtesy of Colm Lenaghan / Pacemaker.

Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on GCT help bring Robbie McDaid to Glentoran FC

It is with the deepest sadness that we have learned today of the passing of GCT Treasurer Mervyn Jones.

A life-long and active Glenman, Mervyn had been involved with the GCT from the very start, indeed, as a Belfast City Councillor, he became interested in the Glens search for a new stadium, and joined the “Rest in East” campaign group as far back as 2003. When the GCT was born in 2006 Mervyn was then one of the first to sign up, and was elected to the GCT Board in 2008, before assuming the role of Treasurer some 6 years ago. His assistance to the GCT at Belfast City Hall has been invaluable.

When not at his beloved Oval on a Saturday however, Mervyn would travel to get his other football fix, watching Sunderland. He had also been a member of the Alliance Party for over 40 years, and represented the East Belfast wards of Victoria and Ormiston on Belfast City Council.

He will be sorely missed by everyone here at Glentoran Community Trust, and our deepest sympathy goes out to his 3 sons, Graham, Timothy and Ian, and to his extended family.

A very sad day indeed.

Funeral service will be held at Roselawn crematorium, 4pm on Tuesday 6th June.

Six months ago I found myself down at the Oval football stadium on a perfect sunny evening in late May. I was responding to a plea made to supporters by the groundsman to help him water the pitch. The kind of thing you don’t get to do at the Bernabeu.

After a time, whilst standing out in the centre circle watching the sun lighting the drops of water falling onto the pitch, I got a bit lost in reminiscing about all the days and nights I’d spent down here and of the good times and not so good I’d shared with everyone who has gravitated just like me, down Mersey Street and through these turnstiles over the last half a century.

The story of the Oval and of its people is one of perseverance, foresight, tragedy, murder, political intrigue, community spirit, civil unrest, war and peace, highs and lows, and success against the odds.

“THERE’S A GREEN SWARD CALLED THE OVAL” is available to pre-order online from today.

Despite a lot of advice to the contrary from the professionals, I have kept the price of what is a compilation of over 72,000 words in addition to 64 pages of photographs (some of which have never been seen before) to just £10. The ‘Official’ launch of the book , is set for a number of events in November and December, but as of today you can pre-order and purchase your copy here online at GCTni.com. Books will be ready for collection, and posting will begin, from Thursday 24th November. The book will also be available from a number of other outlets, which will be posted on here in due course.

There are no plans for a pricey re-print folks, once the initial stock is gone that’s it, so if you want one it might be wise to get your order in now.

In light of continuing developments and uncertainty at the Oval, the Glentoran Community Trust will be holding an Extraordinary General Meeting at The Oval Grounds on MONDAY 26th SEPTEMBER 2016 – 7.30pm start.

The meeting will give GCT members an opportunity to address any concerns they may have directly to those on the Glentoran Board, and also give Board members an opportunity to put to bed any unhelpful speculation currently doing the rounds on the terraces and social media.

You MUST be a GCT member to attend.

Those of you who may have lapsed memberships may also attend on payment of the annual renewal fee on the night.

Glentoran Community Trust, in association with the Elk Inn, Dundonald, proudly presents… RICKY WARWICK – “Playing for the shirt”!

click image to enlarge

Despite having one of his busiest years in the music industry, Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy frontman Ricky Warwick is back in town to play what has become a must see Christmas show in his local hostelry The Elk Inn Dundonald.

This will be the third year in a row that Ricky (a long standing member of the Glentoran Community Trust) will play a blistering solo gig on behalf of the supporters’ co-operative.

Funds raised by Ricky’s shows in the past in The Elk have continued to allow the Trust to assist in securing the services of Glentoran players such as Jordan Stewart, Kym Nelson, Barry Holland and most recently to cover the costs of flying Glens stalwart Jonny Addis in from university in Liverpool for the forthcoming season’s games.

Only someone of the calibre of Ricky would go out of their way to make sure that this gig for his beloved Glentoran is pencilled into the diary year on year which is an incredible gesture. So get set to rip the roof off again, up close and personal on Tuesday December 6th 2016.

We understand that there is quite a considerable interest from BSR and Thin Lizzy fans on the mainland which is why we have released details at this early stage, giving you time to make travel arrangements etc.

If there are sufficient numbers coming over for the show we will incorporate a tour of Belfast for you, looking at the locations that inspired some of his work from Damascus street to the Mersey, the Solway and the Dee, the Oval stadium home of Glentoran FC, the club he so ardently supports and some of the sights and stories that make this city the most unique of places.

Ticket purchase details will follow in good time before the gig but as always will be priced at £10.

We hope to see you all there… It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🙂

Posted inUncategorized|Comments Off on RICKY WARWICK – “Playing for the shirt”

As Chairman of the GCT I guess you get to have more conversations than most with Glentoran Chairman, Stephen Henderson, but when you see his number coming up on your phone towards the end of July you sort of know it’s not an invitation to a barbecue!

It turned out the club were keen to extend a player’s contract, and when Stephen named the player involved everyone on the GCT Board was eager to listen.

Jonny Addis is not only a good footballer, but a genuinely nice guy as well. A sign of the guy’s character is that Jonny was one of only 3 first team players who followed through on a promise to fight in the GCT Charity Boxing Night at La Mon a few years back. Never missed boxing training for 6 weeks, and the event raised over £12,000! £8,000 of that money went to the Glens and the other £4,000 to a number of local charities.

I told Jonny Addis, Stevie Gordon and Jay Magee afterwards, that if any of them ever needed help in the future and the GCT were in a position to provide it, we would. Which brings us to today… MORE HERE

To accompany our Belfast Blitz Remembered evening on the 4th May 2016, the Glentoran Community Trust has written, produced and designed a full colour retro style, 40-page souvenir programme. The design, research and content has been painstakingly put together in a stylish publication which is a must for anyone with affinity to Glentoran and an appreciation of our history.

A Bomber’s Moon looks at the stories, the people, and the places, whilst re-visiting the bombing of east Belfast, and the re-building of the Oval.

Click to enlarge

Priced at £5 to assist in funding the event itself “A Bomber’s Moon” is available to buy now. You can pick up a copy at our two remaining home games against Glenavon and Crusaders, at the event itself, by ordering online via email at

Question: What do Lisburn, Drogheda, Dundalk and Dublin have in common?

Answer: BELFAST – 1941

In the aftermath of both the Easter and May raids on Belfast in the Spring of 1941 the fire service in Northern Ireland was stretched beyond human belief. In an urgent plea for assistance as Belfast burned, the War Rooms at Stormont asked for urgent help by way of engines and crew from Southern Ireland. On both occasions fire crews sped from Dublin, Drogheda and Dundalk stations to come to the aid of the people of Belfast and their Northern counterparts.

We’ve had quite a few enquiries about the artwork associated with the “Belfast Blitz Remembered” event. A few people have asked where they can get hold of the posters etc. So in response we have produced 50 A3 full colour high quality posters for sale.